


Tertiary Colors

by perkyhades



Category: Leverage
Genre: Eliot X Punching, F/M, Fluff, Found Family, Gen, Hardison's love of orange soda, Humor, Improper use of a disguise kit, Nate and Sophie keep everyone - mostly - in line, Parker X The Hope Diamond, Sorry Not Sorry, Team as Family, leverage - Freeform, look I love the Robin Hood thing okay, look more tags will be added I'm just a space cadet, ten pounds of crazy in a five pound bag
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:55:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26576380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perkyhades/pseuds/perkyhades
Summary: Nate and Sophie know their team is a force to be reckoned with. That doesn't mean they're not able to see where improvements can be made. Meet Lilith, the improvement.
Relationships: Alec Hardison/Parker, Eliot Spencer/Original Female Character, Sophie Devereaux/Nathan Ford
Comments: 3
Kudos: 17





	1. To New Beginnings

It’s blatantly obvious that the city of Boston was designed well before cars were even a hypothetical dream. The streets are narrow enough to make two lanes of traffic feel impossibly claustrophobic, but factor in the crazy drivers and _that’s_ why the public transportation system is so popular. The idea of driving to a destination after landing at Logan International had quickly been dismissed once the reality of navigating crooked streets on very little sleep and limited directional awareness fully washed over Lilith. All she had to do was survive 7 stops on the MBTA and then she’d be in the warm, little hands of people who knew what the fuck was going on with this city.

For a (very early) Tuesday morning, the train car was more crowded than expected. The idea of so many people catching near-red eye flights to get into Boston-proper by the beginning of the business day was baffling. Sure, she’d seen the same amount of, if not more, people at 6 am on the L in Chicago, but this was different. In place of the wide variety of commuters you’d see in Chicago were men and women stuffed into slightly creased suits, armed with lattes and tiny rolling suitcases. Lilith knew she stuck out like a sore thumb. Armed with her ‘definitely not too big’ suitcases adorned in bright, colorful geometric patterns and dressed like a normal person who just got off a plane that early in the morning ought to; she looked like a child among the suit-clad masses. Coffee. She needed coffee if she was going to have to withstand any more of these goons’ stares. 

It was going to be fine, she told herself as the train approached her stop, this was just a minor, life-changing experience. Totally normal. A friend hooked her up with a job. It’s no big deal, really. Just casually being recruited as a full-time forger for a team of con artists and thieves.

“We have the technological side more than covered, but no one with much experience in your field,” she had been told while sitting across from a dark-haired woman with a lilted accent in a Brooklyn bakery.“Someone with your skillset would be invaluable to the team, to us. You’re the final piece we’ve been missing.”

The chime that signaled the opening train doors abruptly shook Lilith out of the memory. The slap of cold air was the first thing she noticed as she climbed the stairs out of the station. The second was the welcomed sight of a cab; no more mass transit today. She was thankful when the driver scrambled out of the front seat to help her cram her bags and poster tubes in the trunk. Art supplies ain’t all that light.

“Where a’ya going today,” the cab driver asked as Lilith settled in the back seat.

“Shoot, give me just a second I wrote the address down,” she fumbled around her backpack until she produced a small, green notebook. She quickly flipped through the dog-eared pages and finally flipped the book upside down.

“23 Irving Street, please,” she smiled as she closed the book with a heavy ‘clunk’.

New city, new life, she thought to herself as she typed out a message, “En route. ETA in twenty. Please have coffee for me I think I’m dying.” She wasn’t surprised when her phone dinged half a minute later, with the reply simply saying,

“French roast, soy vanilla creamer. Bagels okay?” Aw, she remembered, Lilith grinned.

“You’re an absolute angel, Sophe, thank you x.”

In the headquarters for Leverage Consulting, an extra place was set at the briefing table. As far as anyone - anyone meaning Hardison, Parker, and Eliot - knew, Sophie and Nate were bringing in someone to “complete the team,” which, as far as any of them were concerned, was at least a little offensive. They’d been a great team for the last two years; what could possibly be missing? Scattered about the loft, each of the three snapped to attention when Sophie entered the main room holding a large bag from the corner bakery and a paper cup of coffee.

“She’s five minutes out, please, don’t make any snap judgments. And Eliot, did you get the guest room set up,” Sophie carefully eyed each of the three. Nate was downstairs meeting with a prospective client, something about a job they suspected to be relevant to this new person’s arrival. Eliot nodded, the guest room was set, along with several heavy boxes this mystery woman had sent ahead of her.

“I just don’t see why we need to bring someone else on here; we work just fine as is,” Eliot crossed his arms as he settled into a corner of the couch.

“I’m with Eliot on this one, we’re a well-oiled machine, why are we screwing with what we have?” Hardison looked up from the video game he was playing from the other side of the couch. Sophie paid no attention to the two men and continued setting up breakfast.

“I trust Sophie, and that’s it,” Parker shrugged as she took a bagel from Sophie’s freshly-arranged platter. Before she could be scolded for her lack of patience, there was a loud knock on the door that preceded a young woman falling through the threshold of the door, suitcases tumbling down around her.

With an unfortunate ‘thump’ Lilith fell ass-over-tits through the open door in front of her. Luckily, one of her suitcases had shot out in front of her and broke her fall. Lilith sprung up as fast as she could without risking falling over again, acutely aware that her phone had skittered across the room. Beet red, she threw Sophie Deveraux a small wave while she tried to right her suitcases and brush herself off.

“Jesus, I am so sorry. This is probably the worst first impression I’ve ever given,” Lilith grimaces. “But, hi, hello, thank you for having me.” Sophie quickly pulled her into a quick, tight hug.

“It’s good to see you, Lilith. Was your trip okay?”

“It was fine. An easy, three-hour flight; I really can’t complain. Although I did finally understand why you didn’t want me driving here from the airport. Those roads…those drivers…” Lilith shook her head. Boston drivers, man, they’re something else. Someone from across the room cleared their throat, and Lilith was made aware for the first time that she and Sophie weren’t alone. A tall man wearing a very vibrant scarf stared expectantly at her from his spot standing in front of the couch. Lilith noted that it looked like he’d been in the middle of a Call of Duty match. Sophie shot him a look that, to Lilith, spoke more than words.

“Lilith, this is Alec Hardison. Resident hacker,” Sophie said with a small smile. Lilith waved, still not emotionally recovered from her graceful entrance.

“Nice to meet you, Alec. I’ve heard nothing but incredible things about your orange soda habit.” Lilith felt a wash of relief break over her when Alec returned her smile.

“And gummy frogs. Can’t forget the gummy frogs.” The shorter man sitting standing at the other end of the couch rolled his eyes. His hair was pulled back into a loose bun, and it looked as if he had a healing black eye.

“I don’t understand how you haven’t rotted the teeth out of your head, Hardison.” His voice gruff and latent with annoyance.

“You must be Eliot,” Lilith gave him a formal once-over, “I’ve heard they call you a retrieval specialist - don't know what that means. And that you make really good pancakes.” Absolutely no reaction. Okay, fine, be that way, she thought.

“And Parker,” a Cheshire Cat smile bloomed across Lilith's face as she turned to face the blonde perched on a barstool at the kitchen island, “is it true you stole the Hope Diamond and returned it because you got bored? I have so many questions.” Parker returned the enthusiastic smile wordlessly. “And where’s Nate," Lilith asked as she turned back to Sophie, now noticing the man's absence.

“He’s meeting with a prospective client downstairs. Something about a stolen family heirloom.” She handed Lilith the paper cup of coffee which she took greedily.

“Ah. Well. Let me guess, my timing isn’t a coincidence, and said family heirloom is something of my specialty.”

“Never once to miss something, are you, Lilith?” Lilith turned at the sound of another voice. Nate. “And you’d be correct. Family heirloom is a painting that’s currently slated to be sold at an auction.”

“Style?” Lilith started scooting a suitcase into an empty corner of the living room.

“Impressionism,” Nate replied, chucking a thin folder to her.

“What am I going up against? Carbon dating? Appraisals?” She flipped through the pages. It didn’t look like it was going to be too difficult. The painting wasn’t done by a major, known artist, and certainly not during the style's height of popularity.

“None of the above, just the eyes of the auctioneers. How much time do you need?” Nate’s question in tandem with Lilith beginning to unpack her suitcase and unfurl the contents of her poster tube answered a lot of the questions the trio had raised earlier in the morning. It all clicked into place.

“The real question is how much time do I have?” First out of the bag came an easel, then two large briefcases, and a brush roll.

“Two days. Ideally less than that.” Nate took stock of the contents of the suitcase. 

“I hope it’s okay that I set up here, for now, I’m still working on securing my own place, and I’m pretty sure Sophie doesn’t want me highjacking her living room.” Lilith smiled at the woman knowingly.

“It’s fine,” Nate replied, “you’re saving us a lot of work on this.” Lilith beamed in reply. After a moment, Parker had put the pieces together.

“You’re a forger. An art forger.”

“Among other things, yes.” Excitement settles across Hardison’s face.

“Girl, you’re about to save me _so much time_.”

“Art forger, make up artist, grifter, there isn’t much Lilith isn’t capable of.” She blushed as Sophie fondly clapped her on the shoulder.

“I mean yes and no. You’re way overselling me, Sophie. I keep breaking lock-picking sets,” Lilith smiled at Parker, “and I have literally never been in a fight,” she pivoted to Eliot. His demeanor hadn’t changed even after Hardison and Parker relaxed. “Looks like I’ll be here for a while,” she gestured around the room, “I’m looking forward to getting to know you all. Now, did my packages make it?” With a nod from Nate, Lilith took that as her cue to settle in for the whole “briefing” thing she’d heard so much about.

Eliot wasn’t sure what weirdo art school Sophie and Nate plucked Lilith out of. She seemed young, too young to have been forging for very long. Hardison’s age, if not younger, for sure. Not to mention her green hair made her _look_ like a college student. She’d have to prove herself sooner rather than later, he thought. _Sink or swim_.

Hardison and Parker had eased their preconceived ideas of their interloper the moment she fell through the door. Hardison saw her electric green hair before anything else, and then he noticed the Star Wars patch on her came jacket. Okay, so she wasn’t some stuffy thief. Honestly, Parker’d been won over by Lilith the moment she mentioned her Hope Diamond heist.


	2. Ned Flanders on a Bender

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear I didn’t fall off the face of the earth. That pandemic depression is a bitch. Please excuse the terrible formatting. I uploaded on mobile. I’ll fix it later I promise. It bugs me too.

On the other side of the door, Lilith found herself elbow-deep in one of her many suitcases, cursing Sophie and Nate six ways from Sunday. Should she have asked why she was expected to pack her entire stash of grifting gear? Probably, yeah. Did she think to do that? Absolutely not. Lilith was so focused on getting to Boston in one piece that she definitely neglected to go over the finer details of their negotiation. And thus, here she was, rummaging through her giant suitcase to prove a point to three people she'd barely just met. It’s one thing to know that you, yourself, are a capable and competent person. It’s another thing to know that someone you trust is as well. Being comfortable with someone else - trusting their capabilities and prowess - is an entirely different animal.

“Great,” Lilith cursed as she angrily unpacked the bag, “just great. Send me into some bougie-ass auction with the one person in the room who’s looking at me like I have three heads. Fine, this is absolutely fine. Mutual animosity is totally believable between two parties at an auction. We can be bitter rivals driven further apart by our competing Gerhard Richter collections.” With an unceremonious thump, everything she’d need in the coming days tumbled onto the bed. The finer details could be sorted out later. Lilith yanked the door open, a visible scowl set in her brow as she turned to face Eliot.

“First of all, look who’s talking. Second of all - oh wait, hold on,” she paused dramatically and pressed a finger to her ear, “the 90’s called. They want their hairstyle back.” Hardison proceeded to laugh so hard Parker, who was also in stitches, had to hit him in the back to get him to breathe. Eliot just crossed his arms and wordlessly cocked an eyebrow. Sensing the uptick in tension, Sophie stepped in between the two.

“Okay, speaking to the task at hand,” she clapped her hand excitedly as she pulled Lilith out of the doorway and steered her into the middle of the group. She had that “this is going to be a masterpiece” look in her eye. No one was excited when she had that look in her eye. 

-

Sitting on Nate’s couch armed with nothing but a duffle bag, fake hair, and a latte, Lilith started to feel nauseous. The painting had passed Nate’s inspection earlier in the day before it got whisked away to play its part in the day’s ‘festivities’; she assumed that would’ve given her a crumb of relief. Now, however, as she failed to keep her knee from bouncing erratically, she realized that maybe - just maybe - the painting wasn’t the source of her anxieties. It’d been a while since she’d been a part of a con like this, let alone one with this many moving parts. Lilith was abruptly brought out of her haze by the sound of keys in the front door. 

“Didn’t expect to see you here so early.” She heard Eliot set something down on the counter behind her. “I brought breakfast.” If Lilith had learned one thing in the past 96 hours or so, it’s that if Eliot is offering you food, take it. It’s probably incredible. However, it’s hard to find any food exciting when you’re so nervous you may keel over at any time, not that she could speak from experience or anything. “You’re going to hate yourself later if you don’t have anything except coffee. We’ve got too much going to for you to be running on fumes.” He must’ve seen the way she warily eyed the brown paper bag he’d brought. 

“What if I told you that I’ve an advanced humanoid life form and I’ve transcended the need for real food.” Lilith wasn’t entirely sure she was ready to turn around and look Eliot in the eye.

“And what if I told you that I’ll tell Sophie you got paint on her favorite pashmina if you don’t shut up and eat this fucking bagel?” Against all odds, Lilith shot off the couch like it’d been lit on fire under her.

“I got the paint out! You swore to secrecy!” She spun around to fire back at him, but quickly lost all speech capabilities,“what the hell are you wearing?” Eliot, who was busying himself with the coffee pot, seemed to be wearing what Lilith could only describe as a complete and utter monstrosity. “Oh my god, what Land’s End catalog did you crawl out of?”

“Are you done? Eat your bagel, we need to get moving.”

“Not until you tell me why you look like Ned Flanders on a bender.” That, surprisingly, earned Lilith a genuine laugh.

“It’s to blend in at the auction house. You know, where we’re supposed to be in two hours,” Eliot chided, opting to take the direct approach this time and lobbed the wrapped bagel at Lilith’s head.

“That doesn’t explain why you’re dressed like a colorblind PTA dad.” Seriously, the sweater somehow managed to look like it was crocheted by a colorblind person with no regard for uniformity. Lilith shuttered at the very thought.

“Do I look like the kinda guy who owns a lot of sweaters?” Lilith drummed the side of her coffee cup as she hummed.

“To be entirely fair, you don’t look like the kind of guy who could out-cook a legit chef yet here we are.” She shrugged, “you could have a closet full of sweaters for all I know. I’d just hope they’re not all that … unique.” God help her, Eliot smiled at her, and not in the ‘I’ll get you for that later’ way she’d seen him give Hardison a million times.


End file.
